Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige teased that both S.H.I.E.L.D. and its villainous counterpart, Hydra, aren't gone for good from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As part of the global press tour for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Feige was asked about two groups that have had a huge impact on the journey of the title characters. With both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra having spent years missing from the MCU -- outside of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., whose place in canon remains unknown -- the overseer of the Marvel multiverse was asked if the rival outfits could someday return to the big or small screen.

"Well, again, you can always look at the comics, right?" Feige said. "We always take our lead from what has happened before, and those organizations come and go in various forms over the years. So, they always could [return]. There are new organizations, like S.W.O.R.D., that you saw in WandaVision, so there's always an inherent need for above-board or shadowy organizations of some kind in the MCU."

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While S.H.I.E.L.D. has played a role in the MCU since its debut with 2008's Iron Man and Hydra wasn't far behind, first appearing in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, both groups have been absent from the films for quite some time. After Captain America: The Winter Soldier revealed that Hydra had secretly been growing inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. since its inception, both organizations fell into disarray. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt with the fallout of this plot, even bringing Samuel L. Jackson on for the Season 1 finale to bequeath the revived Agent Coulson with control over S.H.I.E.L.D., but the films largely ignored the development as the threat of Thanos began taking shape.

Avengers: Age of Ultron briefly teased the end of Hydra -- which continued to thrive on TV -- and saw the deus ex machina-like return of S.H.I.E.L.D. during its climax, only for the eternal enemies to soon disappear on the big screen altogether. New threats emerged, and characters like Agent 13 and Maria Hill merely switched careers. By Captain America: Civil War, real-world government organizations filled S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shoes.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finished its seven-season run last year, but Feige has teased that it and Marvel shows like Daredevil might someday have a place in the MCU proper -- or at least, the characters from those shows might. For now, the debut of S.W.O.R.D. has seemingly given Marvel its next shadowy organization that works for both good and ill, depending on who's in charge.

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Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The series premieres March 19 on Disney+.

Source: Comic Book Movie